As 'Idol' fan, she is eminently clear on whom she idolizes

I was elated to have 17th-row floor seats to see Adam Lambert perform at the American Idols Live Tour July 18 in San Diego. But after I returned to Arizona, I realized something was missing and that I had to see Adam again, closer.

I secured front-row seats for the concert in Cleveland on Aug. 23. Luckily, my husband, Jim, is a big Adam fan, too. I was really excited about the trip and had the feeling something special was going to happen.

We started off the night dining like rock stars at the Hard Rock Café. Next we headed to the arena. After a short time, a woman approached me asking about the blue roses I was carrying and where we got our jackets. I told her the roses were to throw to Adam and that we were in the front row. I explained I had the idea for custom Adam Lambert tour jackets to show our support in his tour colors.

We found black jackets, and one of our friends came up with the design in blue and silver. Our other friend, who was a costume designer for Van Halen, studded them. The woman asked if they could take pictures with us and the jackets to show Adam, as she thought he'd really like them. I said yes!

She continued she was from California and has known Adam since he was a boy. She was there with a woman friend and two of Adam's male friends. She told us that her granddaughter Danielle Stori went to school with Adam and has been best friends with him for years. She told us they were going to see Adam at the VIP Meet and Greet and would tell him about us and show him the photos.

Once inside, one of Adam's friends came to find us at our seats to tell us Adam was definitely going to come out and sign autographs after the show and which gate to go to. People kept stopping us, telling us they loved the jackets and asking us to pose with them for photos. Though we easily could have, we would not have considered selling our jackets for any price.

The show was totally different from the first one, in our incredible front-row seats in the left bumpout of the stage. We enjoyed all the Idols, and could see every expression.

Adam's set was truly amazing. Up close you could really feel the emotion, intensity and electricity flow from him while he performs. During "Slow Ride" I threw the roses ,and they made it onto the stage. The highlight of the night was holding up the jacket during "Hey Jude."

Adam pointed to me and gave me the OK sign and a big smile. I was thrilled because I knew he loved it.

After the finale, we headed to the barricades for the meet and greet. We got photos and autographs of nine of the 10 Idols, including Adam's. That was the best night of my life to date, and I still can't stop smiling.

Now the Idol tour is over, but Adam's voyage to superstardom is just beginning. Adam's single "Time For Miracles" from the movie "2012" was released Monday, and his video premiered Wednesday on MySpace Music (see it at www.myspace.com/music). His solo album drops Nov. 23, and he's on the November cover of Details magazine.

So my journey closer to Adam Lambert is over.

Or is it? He'll be performing his new single at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 22. The stars have aligned again, because we've had tickets for the AMAs for months. And so the journey continues …